Military women occupy only 11% of positions in the forces

After 45 years after starting to join the Armed Forces, women still represent only 11% of the contingent. They are 37,602 of the 342,155 military personnel today in Brazil. The, which allowed the women’s entry into combat positions, was a breakthrough, but there is still much to evolve, says expert.

The number of women in 9,085, corresponding to 12.6% of the staff. In, where there is the largest military contingent in the country, women represent only 6.7%, a total of 13,461. A is the one that has a higher percentage of female participation, 22% – a total of 15,056 women.

To the Poder360Stela Dantas, a researcher about the participation of women in the Armed Forces, states that the discrepancy between the male and female contingent hinders the general understanding of what it is to be military. “More and more they are seen as women, not as military women”it says.

Women began to join the forces in 1980 by the Air Force. Then, through the Navy, in 1982. Female incorporation by the army was only 10 years later in 1992.

The entry of the female portion in the 3 forces began by specific careers, such as health, logistics and maintenance. Rather, women were prohibited from entering operational functions, a restriction that remained for more than 2 decades.

Female

The 1st volunteer has already received registration 25,250 women. Most of them are from the Southeast and Northeast states. Official data from the assigned to the Poder360 They show that the sum of the military regions of these places reaches 14,892 – which represents more than half of the total subscribers. The state of Maranhão is not accounted for in the Northeast because it is in the 8th Military Region, along with states of the North.

The enlistment began on January 2 and runs until June 30, 2025. According to the enlistment, the enlistment is for 1 year of service, but this period can be extended for up to 8 years. There are a number of processes to be able to integrate one of the strength, they are: interview, health exams and physical tests. In all, there are 1,465 vacancies in dispute, distributed between the Army (1,010 vacancies), the Air Force (300 vacancies) and the Navy (155 vacancies).

Here’s how the organization of the military regions of Brazil is divided:

• 1st Military Region – encompasses the states of RJ and ES;
• 2nd Military Region – SP;
• 3rd Military Region – RS;
• 4th Military Region – MG;
• 5th Military Region – SC and PR;
• 6th Military Region – BA and SE;
• 7th Military Region – PE, RN, AL and PB;
• 8th Military Region – PA, AP, MA;
• 9th Military Region – MT and MS;
• 10th Military Region – CE and PI;
• 11th Military Region – GO, TO and DF;
• 12th Military Region – AM, AC, RO and RR.

Advances and setbacks

Stela says the military environment is not welcoming. According to her, the professionals shape to a standard to be better accepted in the strength, and men “They put themselves in a paternity role” in relation to the newborn.

She evaluates that the relationship of the Armed Forces with the “Ideal of virility” caused by what it calls “Toxic Masculinity”be one of the barriers for female insertion: “It is an environment with striking structural violence”declares.

In 2003, the aeronautics allowed the entry of women’s combatants. Both in the Navy and the Army they could only enter as combatants in 2012. It was 30 years after female inclusion in the Navy and 20 years in the Army.

The last force had a specificity: female participation as a combatant was only possible from Law 12.705, sanctioned by former President Dilma Rousseff, on August 18, 2012.

For the researcher, “The biological argument” for restriction of women in combat areas is the result of machismo and “It’s what stands out the most”.

In January 2024, the PGR (Attorney General’s Office) went to the Supreme Court (STF) to question the restriction of women in combat. The limitation via the opinion that had, among the arguments, the “Female Physiology” as a limiting factor for participation.

In Aman (Military Academy of Negulhas Negras), the only school responsible for training career combatants, the first women to integrate a class are from 2018. The 1st women’s graduation took place in 2021, 29 years after entering the land force.